braised chicken tacos with spicy carrot-raisin slaw

This would be that one big meal you make that could easily make a several smaller meals for the next couple days with its leftovers.
A little bit of extra work for two to three more meals for the rest of the work week.
These kicked up chicken tacos on day one, then BBQ chicken sliders, a quick veggie stir fry, and maybe even a stuffed omelet--just to name a few.

I stole this recipe from Marc over at No Recipes.
Craving tacos with a little bit of kicked up flavor and heat.
I added on the slaw for a 'cooling' aspect and a bit of crunch.
The slaw is so good, you can eat it on its own. The heat of the spicy mayo mixed with the crunch of chopped pecans and a bit of sweet from the honey and raisins--so good!
Use this slaw on any type of spicy taco filling really, very versatile.





This makes a lot of tacos, about 12-15?
I only used a 1/4 of this and made BBQ sliders the next day, and a nice stuffed omelet a couple days later.  The leftovers are very versatile, can be used for anything really.
It also freezes well!

braised chicken tacos with spicy carrot-raisin slaw
chicken recipe from No Recipes
slaw from vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe

2 pounds whole chicken thighs
3 small onions, sliced thinly
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
3 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed (I skipped this)
14 ounce can of chopped tomatoes in juice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bay leaf
(I added in 1/2 cup of light brown sugar)
juice of 1 meyer lemon (or juice of 1/2 regular lemon)
salt to taste

carrot-raisin slaw
1 cup of shredded carrots (enough slaw for 2-3 people as a topping)
1/2 mayo
a few squirts of sriracha sauce
a handful or two of chopped pecans
a handful or two of raisins
a squirt or two of honey to your liking

Generously salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. Add about 2 TB of oil to a large heavy bottomed pot and heat until the oil is very hot. Brown the chicken in batches, leaving room between the pieces of chicken so they turn a golden brown on one side before flipping. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and repeat.  Turn down the heat to medium low, add the onions and garlic to the pot, and cover with a lid for 10 minutes. When you remove the lid, the onions should be wilted and cooking in their own juices. Use a wooden paddle to scrape up all the browned bits (a.k.a. chicken flavor) from the pan, then turn up the heat to medium high to burn off the liquid. When most of the liquid has evaporated, turn the heat back down and stir and continue to caramelize the onions until they are brown and glossy (another 20-30 minutes).
Meanwhile, tear up the chiles into small flat pieces and place them in a single layer on a sheet pan. Roast in a 350 degree oven until they are fragrant, but be careful not to burn them as they will become bitter. Transfer the roasted peppers to a bowl and cover them with very hot water. Once the peppers are soft, transfer them to a food processor or blender adding in about 1/2 cup of the water they were soaking in along with the can of tomatoes. Puree the peppers and tomatoes until they form a smooth sauce.
When the onions are done caramelizing add the pepper puree, along with the chicken, cinnamon sticks, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, bay leaf and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, partially cover with a lid and cook until the chicken falls apart when prodded with a fork (about 1 1/2 hours).
When the chicken is done, remove the bay leaf an cinnamon sticks, then use 2 forks to shred the meat. Taste the sauce and add salt to taste.
I served this with my carrot-raisin slaw, or you can serve it plain, or with sliced avocados, fresh cilantro, lime wedges and tortillas.
For the carrot-raisin slaw: just mix all to your liking, go easy with the hot sauce at first and add more as you taste-test.  I figured about 1 cup of shredded carrots for every 2-3 people?

ginger chicken stir fry

Ginger-- I cannot get enough of it.
The discovery of The Ginger People was just the vessel a ginger addict like myself needed to further fuel my addiction and mid-afternoon cravings.
They were there for me when I had the flu last winter; those strong, little, spicy ginger candies: Gin Gin was just the thing I needed for my permanently dry throat.
And I fell in love with their pickled sushi ginger.
We know how good for you ginger is.  The many health benefits is almost endless.  Here are a few here, and here and here....here, here.
You get the idea.  I eat ginger for anti-inflammatory reasons, for my arthritis, and also because it just tastes so good.
I'm also trying to get my hubby to eat more veggies, and if the plate is done right, colorful enough and has enough flavor he will.
We call this dish my ginger chicken stir fry.  We eat it at least once a week.  It's so easy and so tasty, trust me you will never use Chinese take out if you give this a go.
Hubby claims to hate ginger, but he loves it; its in this dish.  Don't tell him LOL.  If I mince up the ginger small enough he won't find it.
Making this dish takes literally 15 minutes.  The hardest part? Chopping up the chicken.
Add in any veggies you like.  If you use raw broccoli, just give it a cook 1 minute boil to take the "raw edge" off.
In the past I've added in: cashews, red onions, squash, cauliflower, kale--the list is endless. And you don't have to use meat, use tofu to make it vegetarian!  Just crisp up the tofu and add it in last, so it doesn't get soggy.





Leftovers are the best.  It's been sitting happily with the ginger and that sauce all night long.  Yum!

ginger chicken stir fry
print recipe

4 chicken breasts, chopped into 1 or 2-inch pieces
4 cups +/- broccoli heads
1 cup of grated carrots
1 medium red onion, diced
5 TB of pickled ginger (use more or less)
1/4 cup of Trader Joe's Island Soyaki sauce
olive oil for frying up chicken
(use any veggies you want)
I doubt you'll need salt, but a hint of pepper is needed.

If using raw broccoli, give it a quick 1-2 minute boil to take raw edge off.
In a large pan, heat up the olive oil and cook chicken throughly.
At the last 2 minutes of chicken cooking add in the onions, and cook.
Add in the ginger and soyaki sauce; get it to a boil.
Add in the broccoli and carrots.
Stir until everything is nice and coated and heated through.
Add in some black pepper, if desired.
Serve over rice or as is.
Should serve 4 people.

chicken shawarma

Steamy. That best describes the weather these days. And the sun isn't even out AND it's not even July! When the sun does come out on steamy days it gets brutal. This extreme hot and cold varying weather caused by global warming? I don't know, I'm on the fence about it. Something is causing it, be just plain old weather trends every 50 or 100 years or pollution. Who knows I need more data/facts on it. What I do know is almost 10 years ago on the cape we never had this much humidity in the summer. Sure it would get hot but never this humid. Another thing is the amount of rainfall we've been getting; every year it's gone up by 1-3 inches. Now that part is scary. You've seen on the tv all the flooding that's been going on?

For any of you weather history buffs, like myself, here are a few neat weather data sites that let you see the history of the weather. First one is the NOAA regional climate centers. The second is the old farmers almanac that has a good weather history section. For myself, I love the NOAA one it gets really in depth. I love to know what the temperature was like in say 1903--good stuff.

The oven in my house has not been on much. Lots of pizza, salads and grilling have been taking over. Haven't been in the mood to make cakes for a while, with this heat and all. But the grilling is something I've been craving non-stop. So here is my version of chicken shawarma. I know there are tons of versions out there, but this one is quick and easy to throw together for hot summer nights. Here is another good version of chicken shawarma from Food in my Beard. And Lisa over at Jersey Girl Cooks has a good one too.

chicken shawarma
print recipe

chicken marinade:
2 large lemons, juiced
3 TB extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ts cumin
1 ts madras curry powder
A couple dashes of cayenne powder
1 ts salt
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut up into large chunks (or you could use thighs)

In a large glass or ceramic dish mix together lemon juice, oil, garlic, cumin, salt, curry, and cayenne.
Add in the chicken and coat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Make the tahini sauce next. When ready to cook chicken you can either grill it, cast iron fry it or bake it in a roasting pan at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes or until juices in the chicken run clear. If you do use the oven way do not cook it in the marinade. Personally I think grilling is the best way, really brings out the flavor of the marinade. When the chicken is cooked shred it into long strips.

tahini sauce:
1/4 cup tahini paste (sesame paste)
2 TB plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)
1 ts garlic powder
2 TB lemon juice
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
A few dashes of cayenne
a couple dashes of paprika
salt & pepper to taste
fresh chopped parsley

Whisk all ingredients together. If you like a thinner sauce, add in water. I prefer mine thick. Chill this for a few hours before using.

Assemble:
Pita breads or lavash bread, warmed up
chopped tomatoes
chopped cucumbers
red onions
avocado
black onions
feta cheese
hummus

Grill the pita bread/rollups so they are warm and pliable. Layer in some of the chicken then top with whatever toppings you like and then top with the tahini sauce.
For me, I love to add in a layer of hummus, then the chicken, then the toppings and then the tahini sauce. It all works very well together.

crazy chicken fajitas

Not really your average chicken fajitas; kicked up a few notches with the addition of horsey sauce and onion straws. I love chicken fajitas and need to make them with a sauce or two. First a good base sauce/marinade should be the coating on the chicken or beef, then a sauce to go over the fillings of the fajitas, and finally a relish or salsa on the side for extra dipping pleasure. I need the extra dipping pleasure....I love my sauces.
But first I want to say congrats to Joanne over at eats well with others. She was the lucky winner of the $50.00 gift card to Williams Sonoma. Congrats Joanne. Let us know what you got at Williams Sonoma. I know I can easily drop about $2000.00 in that store in the blink of an eye. What kind of giveaway should we have next? I love to hear all ideas....

I also want to say thank you to the la times for featuring my giant quarter pound double chocolate cookies on their blog. That was wonderful--many thanks Renee.

crazy chicken fajitas
by dawn finicane
print recipe

marinade
2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into strips thinly
3 TB fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed

veggies for fajitas
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, and thinly sliced/or diced

sauce for chicken
1 TB olive oil
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
2 TB dark brown sugar
1 TB crushed garlic
1-2 limes (juice of)

combine all marinade ingredients in a plastic bag, seal and let marinade for a couple hours or more.
when ready to use, heat skillet or grill, lightly oil with olive oil. discard the marinade and cook thoroughly. set aside. in same pan grill up all the veggies until they have a nice color to them and a bit of char. you might need a bit more olive oil. remove veggies from pan. in same pan to make the sauce add in the garlic, let it cook a couple minutes, add in the lime juice, add in the dark brown sugar, get up the little bits from pan, then add in the worcestershire sauce. add the chicken and veggies back in the pan and coat well. serve on warm tortillas. add the horsey sauce or whatever you wish. I served this with some sweet pepper relish from stonewall kitchen or you could use corn relish--that works very well too. I made some onion straws to put on top of these and to devour half by myself as well. or you could use crispy shallots.

horsey sauce
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated horseradish
1 ts of white wine or vinegar

In a small bowl stir together the sour cream, heavy cream, wine, and horseradish.
Makes about 1 ½ cups sauce; you can halve this or even quarter this recipe.

onion straws
by guy fieri

2 cups canola oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 sweet onion (Maui or Vidalia)

For the onion straws: In a medium sauce pot, heat the oil to 350 degrees. Whisk the egg and milk in a medium bowl. Mix the flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper in another medium bowl. Cut the onion in half, then slice into 1-inch-thick half rings; separate into short straw-like pieces. Add to the milk mixture to soak. Once the oil is hot enough, remove the onions from the milk mixture, shake off excess and dredge in the flour mixture, 4 or 5 pieces at a time. Add to the pot and fry until golden brown; transfer to paper towels to drain.

crispy shallots
semi-adapted from barefoot contessa

1 cup light olive oil
3 tb unsalted butter
5 to 6 shallots, sliced into medium-thin rings

Heat the oil and unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches about 250 degrees F. Reduce the heat a bit then add the shallots. I did this in two batches. You really do not want to crowd the pan at all. The shallots will brown perfectly if they have plenty of room in the hot oil to swim and get happy. Cook until nice and brown. Make sure to stir the shallots once in a while to get all sides brown. Once down remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, and drain, then place on paper towels. They should stay at room temp., don't put them in the fridge as they will go soft and lose all that nice crispiness.
Should make less than ½ cup.

buffalo chicken chili

So the last few weeks have been crazy busy for me not to say stressful. After having just left a horrible rental that had a horrible kitchen I was finally ready to start cooking in my new kitchen in my new home. Then BAM, the flu hits me like a Mac truck. Literally a week after getting settled into my new home I get the stomach flu, then I get the flu. And now, as I type this I am still sick, not as sick as before, but better. I've never been this sick before for this long. Whatever bug it was called it was morphing from stomach flu to flu flu to 'I-feel-better-now-oh-wait-no-you're-not-better-flu'. Strangest flu I've ever had. I thought it was the swine flu too, but it wasn't. It was so hard to just stay in bed and do nothing, I love to keep busy. And have you ever watched daytime TV? Awful. Thank goodness for Food Network. Did you know that Barefoot Contessa is on two times during the day? Yeah, so everyday, the highlight of my day was watching Ina at 1pm then again at 4pm. I just love when she says "isn't that fabulous?" I always say "oh heavens yes!".
It feels like it has been decades since I've baked or cooked anything. I've been eating a lot of toast, ginger ale, live active cultures, chopped ginger, saltines, and other granny-foods. I just want some damn chili already--I need hot chili to open up my sinuses!! Not really having the strength or patience for 'from scratch foods', I made a quick 'everything-in-the-cupboards-must-go chili'. Yeah, I know, it's really not from scratch. Shame! I know I know. It really was good though and I have valid excuses. So if ever there is a night or two when you are strapped for time, really don't want to cook because you are recovering from the flu and are craving buffalo chicken chili, well have I got just the perfect recipe for you!

Note: while having the flu I am walking, talking and breathing, but I still have the memory of a tsetse fly, so I think I got all the ingredients down, maybe not.

buffalo chicken chili w/ blue cheese drizzle
print recipe

Chili:
3-4 chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, and olive oil (rubbing on chicken to roast)
1 large red onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed (I can't remember how much, enough to kill a cold)
½ finely chopped carrots
A couple tablespoons chili powder
1 TB ground cumin
2 jars of Newmans Own Garden Salsa (might need a bit more)
½ cup spicy bbq sauce
Couple big squirts of ketchup (fancy eh?)
1/4 cup or so of Coca Cola
Some chipotle peppers, diced
1-2 TB honey
1 cup black beans
1 cup red kidney beans
Some fresh lime juice
(add whatever you want, it's chili, it's easy & laidback)

Creamy blue cheese topping:
½ cup or so of creme fraiche (or sour cream)
¼ - ½ cup blue cheese dressing
Chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake in oven until done, about 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool, then chop into chunks, set aside.
In a large pot, pour in some olive oil, then heat up the red onions, carrots, whatever else veggie you want to use up. Sautee them a bit, then add in the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, chipotle peppers, Mix a bit, then add in the salsa, bbq sauce, ketchup, Coke, honey, all the beans, and the chopped cooked chicken. Heat mixture through and taste-test; see what else it needs. I added in some lime juice, salt & pepper, and some fresh lime juice.
If you want the blue cheese topping, just mix all the ingredients and let chill in fridge a bit before using. Serve with buttered toast or corn chips. Taste even better the next day.

general 'dawn' tso's chicken

Finding a decent Chinese take away where I live is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It cannot be done. To get good Chinese I have to go to Baaahston into Chinatown for the real stuff. And for good Italian I go to the North End. Do I go into Boston a lot? Hell no. I'm lucky if I cross the bridge to leave the island. So that leaves me with recreating some of my favorite Chinese dishes at home. If any of you are General Tso chicken lovers then have I got the perfect dish for you. This was so so so so good. I'm a fussy eater of my own cooking creations, I have to have perfection or I will not eat it. I scarfed this one down. It was way better than PF Chang's--and that's saying a lot from me. Sorry PF Chang's, I still love you and will still come for the shrimp with candied walnuts & melons.

general dawn’s spicy tso chicken
by Dawn
print recipe

Vegetable oil, for deep frying
4 boneless chicken breasts (you can use dark meat)
3 eggs
2 ts cayenne pepper
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup plus 2 TB cornstarch
1 – 1 ½ cups of panko crumbs

Sauce:
1 large orange, zested
1 ¼ cups orange juice (with pulp is best)
½ cup dark brown sugar
3-4 TB plum sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 ts hot pepper flakes
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 – 2 TB cornstarch

1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips
¼ - ½ cup of sweet & spicy pecans (I found at Trader Joe’s)

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, use about one bottle of veggie oil or enough oil to cover your pot about 1/3 of the way full. Heat pot over medium heat until oil reaches 350 degrees F.
Cut chicken into 2 or 3-inch pieces.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cayenne, salt & black pepper, set aside.
In another large bowl mix the flour, cornstarch and salt & pepper, set aside.
In a medium bowl put the panko crumbs in.
Dip the chicken in batches, first in egg mixture, then in the flour mixture and shake to coat. Then coat in the panko crumbs, making sure to push down and get them nice and coated. Line them up on a tray to get ready for frying. It’s best to let them sit for a few minutes to absorb all the dry coatings.
To prepare sauce use a large sauté pan, melt 6 TB of the butter, then add in the orange zest, orange juice, dark brown sugar, hot pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add in the 3-4 TB of plum sauce, bring to a boil again and sprinkle on the cornstarch (use your hands or a sifter to avoid any cornstarch clumps). Stir well, let cornstarch dissolve, taste as you go, it might need a pinch or two of salt. Let simmer a bit till thickened—maybe 10 minutes? Add the last 2 TB of butter, stir until melted.
Carefully place chicken in hot oil and fry in small batches until golden and crispy; should take about 5 - 8 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to paper towels to dry a bit. (this recipe belongs to dawn finicane)
Add the cooked chicken to the sauté pan with the sauce and toss until evenly coated. Then add in the red pepper strips and pecans, toss again and serve with white sticky rice.

chicken curry burgers w/ tzatziki

I'm going to let the pictures speak for me. Not that I don't have tons to say, I always do, but these chicken burgers were soooooo good. A pinch of this, a pinch of that, and then a pinch or two of curry thrown in and we have a delish burger. Not to mention the tzatziki sauce is one of my all-time favorites to use as a dip, a sandwich spread and on my hummus roll ups. Oh yes, my hummus roll ups have warm falafel balls , some hummus and then smother it in tzatziki. Delish.
This great recipe is inspired by my friend Esi over at Dishing Up Delights, who just made a wonderful batch of Greek Burgers, and from seeing that post I had to have something similiar. So here is my creation of a curry burger...hope you like it or are inspired to create something similiar. And if you can, grill these burgers for the ultimate taste, and serve on warmed Naan bread. ***And for you vegans out there, I've made this before using those Boca burgers and it was fabulous and tasty!

chicken curry burgers
print recipe

1 lb. ground chicken breast
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
1 TB fresh lemon juice
2 ts paprika
1 ts ground cumin
1 ts curry powder
¼ ts cayenne pepper
A dash of salt & pepper

1 small cucumber, sliced thin
Red onions, sliced thin
Tomatoes, thinly sliced (optional)
Naan bread, warmed
Taziki sauce

In a bowl, gently combine the first 9 ingredients.
Form into mini burgers or meatballs and set aside/refrigerate for 20 minutes or longer to combine flavors.
Grill or fry the patties until cooked through. Remember chicken burgers cook a lot faster than beef. Don't forget to warm your Naan bread before serving!
Place cucumber, onions, tomatoes on warmed Naan bread, followed by the patties. Drizzle, no, smother with the tzatziki sauce.
Made about 7 mini burgers.

Tzatziki Sauce

16 oz. Greek style yogurt*
1 cucumber, washed and peeled
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt
A pinch or two of cayenne pepper (optional, but wonderful)

*Greek style yogurt is much thicker and richer than normal yogurt. If you can’t get a hold of it you can make your own. Place some plain yogurt in a cheesecloth, tie up the edges and hang it over a bowl or place the cheesecloth in a strainer over a bowl in the fridge for a few hours.
Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a small spoon. Then coarsely grate the cucumber.
Gather the grated cucumber in a cheesecloth or paper towel and squeeze out the excess water, otherwise the tzatziki will be too runny.
Mix the grated cucumber with everything else.

bbq chicken

Too cold to grill outside! But I've been craving grilled anything! So I grabbed my cast iron grill pan, heated the oven to 500 degrees and viola! I have fire! Or I have grill, inside, where it's nice and warm. And you know what? It came out fabulous. My cast iron has grill-nubby thingee's on it so I got the grill marks. It's all about the grill marks right? Oh yeah! Since it was night time I don't have the best of pics, but you can imagine how good this tasted. I used a wonderful barbeque sauce from my buddies at Stonewall Kitchen.

cheesy chicken & veggie soup

Do you have a bunch of leftover chicken or turkey or even veggies you need to use up? Want to get your kids or hubby to eat more veggies? Want something nice and hot to warm your bones? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then do I have the answer for you....
Ha ha, don't I sound like a TV commercial, selling the latest and greatest chopping gadget for only $9.99?
But seriously, this cheesy soup is super easy to make, very versatile when adding any type of leftovers, and I swear your kids might just love it. If my over-the-moon fussy hubby eats it--veggies and all, then so will your fussy kids. The best part I love is you can add whatever veggies you have from the ice age in your freezer and chopped leftover chicken or turkey (never tried roast beef, but hey, I bet it might work too).
I was just frozen today, pretty much all day. No amount of hot tea was going to warm my cold bones up. I wanted a hearty, warms you to your bones, soup. This is it for me. Yeah, plus I had a bunch of leftover roasted chicken that I needed to use up too. Leftover potatoes would be wonderful in this too. See, just about anything can go in this cheesy soup.
This time around I added in leftover broccoli, corn and leftover roasted chicken. Wouldn't it be great to add this soup to a hollowed out bread to use as a bread bowl?

Cheesy Chicken & Veggie Soup

2 TB butter
2 TB of extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 cups cooked chicken breasts, grilled is even better
1 cup frozen peas, corn & carrots veggie mix, or whatever you crave
8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1 can (14.75oz) creamed corn
1 cup milk
2+ tsp. of chicken bouillon cube, chopped fine (add as much or as little)
Couple dashes of black pepper
1 cup of mozzarella cheese
Chopped fresh parsley as garnish, optional

Melt butter and olive oil in a saucepan and add onions. Slightly brown the onions.
Remove onions to plate. Then stir fry the chicken breast slices till fully cooked. (or you can grill the chicken, cut it up into cubes).
Add veggie mix, then add the cooked onions back in. Stir together, then add in the cream cheese, stir until the cheese is melted. Add in the creamed corn and milk; sprinkle in the chopped chicken bouillon. Stir well to mix and bring to just boiling, turn off heat, and stir in the mozzarella and some black pepper. Taste test to see if you need more chicken bouillon or salt. Serve with crusty, warm bread.

Serves 4 (depending on portion size)

Note: I like my soup very thick. If you don’t want it thick then add a couple dashes of water or more milk to thin it out. The next time I make this I will be adding chunks of cooked, cubed potato.

Chicken Kabobs

I have been craving these bad boys for a while, ever since Spring started actually. I've finally come around to making them. And I have to be honest, they were fab! They satiated my craving completely.

I did not grill them, although from the pics it looks like they were grilled, but in fact they were broiled in my oven. Yes, you can get these fab char marks from your oven if you experiment a bit. I have mixed thoughts on grilling poultry on the grill--some experts even say you should never really grill poultry on the grill because it does not cook evenly. The middle of the chicken might not get cooked through. I kind of agree with that statement. This broiling method I did in the oven came out great. It was my first time in the oven, normally I do the grill. I served these with baked sweet potatoes (I was going to do rice, but I'm not allowed rice on my diet unless it's brown rice and brown rice does not go with this dish.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs
Serves 4–6

Marinade
½ cup orange juice
½ cup pineapple juice
¼ - ½ cup olive oil
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice, (about 3 - 4 limes)
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 ts honey or sugar
2 ts ground cumin
2 ts ground black pepper, or to taste

Note: you might have to adjust the above measurements according how much you are making.

Kabobs
4 - 6 skewers, 10- to 12-inch
Assorted vegetables cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (zucchini, yellow squash, red and green bell peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms
1 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

To prepare the marinade: In a large bowl whisk together the orange juice, olive oil, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, cumin and pepper until well blended. Set aside.

To marinate:
Use heavy duty plastic bags for marinating. Place all vegetables into one or two bags. Marinate all protein selections in separate bags. Divide the marinade equally among the bags, seal, and marinate in the refrigerator, turning the bag occasionally, for about 3 hours, or overnight.

Soak wooden skewers in water to cover for at least one hour before grilling.

Assemble the skewers as you like. I do piece of chicken, 2 or 3 pieces of veggie, then chicken, then 3 veggies, etc.. Throw away the marinade. Also, it’s good to wrap the ends of you skewers with foil before placing them on the grill. (I did not do this when I broiled in the oven).

Just before grilling I put salt & pepper (lightly) everything.

Grilling method:
Preheat the grill to 375°F (a medium-hot fire). Grill the chicken until just cooked through and slightly charred, turning often, about 8- 10 minutes.

Oven method:
Preheat the oven to 425 F. (mine was at 500 F). Arrange the skewers on a large rimmed nonstick baking sheet in a single layer. (I used the actual oven rack with a pan underneath to collect drippings; the poultry cooks better with nothing underneath. Cleanup was not that bad if you used a pan to collect drippings.)

Bake the chicken until just cooked through, about 10 - 15 minutes.
Transfer the skewers to a platter and serve.